Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 57: Advice From Hades

I woke up in my room in the Underworld with Annabeth snuggling in the side of my body. This is how I truly want to wake up every morning. For minutes, I stayed with her in bed as she slept. Her peaceful face, the golden locks of hair that frame her face. It is as if I hold an angel in my arms.

My gaze goes to the door as it opens slightly, Hades peeks inside and smiles as she sees us. With her hand, she motions to me to let me know she wants to speak with me. I silently nodded and carefully wormed my way out of bed.

As I managed to get out without waking her, I saw her searching the bed. One hand seems to be gliding over the bed. I placed a soft pillow against her as I smiled at her. Annabeth took it and held it close as if I was the pillow. After one kiss on her forehead, I went outside the room to Hades.

"I'm sorry for getting you out of bed, Aileen. Or perhaps I should apologize to Annabeth. She seemed to miss you as you left the bed," Hades says with a smile. "Yeah, I love her mother. I really do. What's it you want to talk about?" I ask. She motions to walk with her, and we walk towards the courtyard.

"It's time someone spoke to you about what it means to be a God or Goddess. You need to know how to control your domain and how to interact with it. I don't think Dionysus will give you the advice, and Chiron is worthless on the matter. It is important that you know how to delve into your immortal spirit. Even if the spirit is incomplete," Hades explains patiently.

"I have had experiences with it, but it is weaker and stronger at moments. For example, when people are in turmoil due to their emotions, it is easier for me to discern and feel their honesty or when trust is low," I say as I ponder about it. Hades nods knowingly as we enter the courtyard.

"Yes, because mortals are more vulnerable when they are emotional. Their mental protections are lowered and become more easily influenced, but when a person is perfectly calm or has strong mental walls, you need to force yourself in. That is more difficult when you do not have the chance to touch them. I think you have experienced that before?" Hades says as she stops in the middle of the courtyard.

"Yes, I did. But how can I force myself in? It's not like I can "see" a wall that I need to take down," I say to Hades. "Indeed. It is not difficult when doing it against mortals. Demigods is a different story. Their heritage makes them more immune to a certain degree. In order to be successful, you have to connect to your spirit. Allow it to fill you, and your domain must become a second nature to you. Let it call out to you, not you to it. If you can manage that, you'll have no problem with influencing or understanding the mortal spirit or any other," Hades explains further.

Her gaze goes over the surroundings. The underworld surround us from the left, front, and right. Its darkness, the rocky walls, its many secrets hidden in the darkness.

"What do you see and feel when you look around?" Hades asks me. "Darkness, the rocky walls that form the Underworld, uhm, I feel some spirits far in the distance. That's about it," I answer.

"I see much more. A hundred meters to your right, a small patch with diamond is hidden beneath the rocky ground. Spirits squabble a thousand meters in the distance on a ledge facing my palace. On the rocky ceiling, a few creatures scurry across it. Do you see what you can notice when you let it call out to you? I do not have to spend my energy outward to sense the sensations in the dark. I know where the riches of the earth are because I sense them calling to me. The same goes for the dead. Powerful items or other Gods can trick your senses, but most often you'll know when that happens."

"You need to master your own domain, my child. Let it not control you, you must control it. That is what it means to have the power of a goddess. You must train yourself. It will become clearer and easier when your body changes and adapts. I hope my words have been useful, my child," Hades finishes.

"It has, mother. There is still a question that lingers on my mind. Annabeth prayed to me and I went to her in spirit while I was asleep. Is that what happens when someone prays to you?" I ask her.

"Praying already works? Curious. What you say is correct, but you can decide whether to answer the prayer and how to answer it. Only when there are too many people that do it at once is when you can decide to split your attention and go to each with a part of the spirit. But I think that's not possible for you yet," she explains. "I see. This helps me greatly, mother, thank you. I will remember your words."

"Good. Come, let's get you back to Annabeth. I can sense her becoming restless in her sleep," she says with a chuckle. "You can see in my room?" I ask as we walk back.

"I can, but I don't do it to give you privacy. This time I kept an eye on her for you while we were talking. Trust me, I am more than distracted by other things than to watch you two go at each other," Hades says with a growing smile. "Because... you are going at it with Persephone?"

Hades shrugs as she smiles even wider. "I have to make the most of each six months. Can't blame me for loving the wonderful woman," she says. "I guess I am the same. Like mother, like daughter."

"Indeed, I didn't have many children with mortals. Very few compared to most Gods, and so far you have been my favorite. Even Persephone has a harder time disliking you than most of my Demigod children. Before I forget, will you be staying for a few days?"

"That's heartwarming, Hades. At least I wasn't hallucinating when I saw the tiny smile on Persephone. I am not sure how long we'll stay. It is Sunday and summer has ended. I guess we'll see what we'd like to do. Perhaps we'll stay a bit longer, but for some reason trouble always finds us. So, yeah, gotta prepare ourselves for the next big thing," I say.

"Very well, be careful. Have fun with Annabeth. Do the things mortals do when in love. When you turn fully immortal and Annabeth receives Godhood from you, things will become different. Enjoy it while it last," Hades says, gives a quick hug, and leaves me alone in front of my room.

I entered my room silently to be sure not to wake Annabeth. She seems to be squirming in bed as she tries to find something, the cushion discarded on the floor. With a smile on my face, I settle again next to her. It did not take long before her arm drapes over me, closing the distance between us. Annabeth sighs in relief and snuggles once again in my side.

"Comfy..." she sighs contently. I slept with a content heart the morning away with Annabeth.

—

Our stay in the Underworld came to a close after two weeks. Annabeth was still somewhat nervous as she walked through the halls and speaking with Hades, Persephone or on one other occasion with Hecate. But overall, I think she felt welcomed. And that was all that mattered to me in the end. Our life in camp continued normally for a few weeks without anything strange.

I sparred with Clarisse, spoke with her about what will come. She even asked me about how I asked Annabeth to marry me. I was happy to tell her all about it, but I can't help be happy that she has a crush of her own. Clarisse can be temperamental and angry, but she has a good heart in the end.

Aside from my somewhat romantically tinted conversation with Clarisse, I spend time with many of the other campers. They were eager to know more about my condition, how it happened, and much more. I told them all I know, with the exception of how actually succeeded. It worried me that they will try to achieve it themselves, and besides, I hardly know how to answer it myself.

On one day, when it was slowly becoming colder, I sat with Annabeth in the saloon of my cabin. For once, the Hecate children were all out to do something with their magic. It made my cabin peaceful and quiet for once. Annabeth was reading a book while I played the violin for her. For minutes, we sat there enjoying each other presence, before a distressed Percy came into the room.

"Aileen, Annabeth... something happened to Grover!" Percy says as he takes a deep breath to calm himself down. "What happened?" Annabeth asks as she walks to him with me in tow.

"I don't know, but has trouble with bringing the Demigods back to camp. He asked us to help him. Thalia already offered her help," he explains. "Alright, no time to lose then. Where to?" I ask as I stored my violin away.

"Bar Harbor in Maine. The Westover Hall school."